The Fey Family

It’s the last week of October, which means there are just over 2 months left until the New Year. How is it that time can seem to both drag on and fly by at the same time? Tyson and Jori are in their last term of school. They will be starting exams in a few weeks. Yes, exams, in primary school. I still have a hard time with this as 4 th grade seems just a bit early to be starting exams, but as with most school related stuff here, we just go with the flow. I don’t mind the first couple days of exams as we manage to get the kids to study beforehand for the first 2 or 3 exams. It’s the last 4 that are the killers as it is hard to get kids who have just taken two exams that day to come home and study for two more, and then you know there are still two more to go. It will be nice to have the long holiday break in December and January! We still do not have any news on a house. So far, I am doing a pretty good job of not freaking out. First, it wouldn’t serve any purpose and second, ...

This is the "Help me" face Today is Saturday, October 17 (Happy Birthday Sarah!!). The sky is looking cloudy; we’ve finally had some rain the past few days and the extremely hot temperatures have abated. The kids are building "cakes" out of Legos. I have already judged a Star Wars themed cake and a Halloween themed cake with headless Lego guys. Amo is going to her family for the rest of the weekend. We had a rough week with her, yucky diapers and vomiting, but yesterday she kept everything in that we gave her. Thank God.  Feeling sick We have had a busy week, but nothing like the whirlwind we had last week. Monday I was at the hospital with Amo to get her meds, see the physio and meet with the dietician. Not really how I prefer to spend my morning, but I am glad that this is usually only a once a month thing. Darin was at the distribution centre for the morning, helping sort and hand out the Woolies food he and Tyson picked up on Sunday night. Tuesda...

Saturday our family needed to get a few things done around the house, like laundry and washing dishes and letting the kids sleep in, etc. We headed to Pretoria at 4 for a traditional braai, which was made even more South African because there was a Rugby World Cup game that night; South Africa vs. Scotland. The venue for the night o’ fun was casa de Jager, also known as Annelien and Morné’s house. We arrived before everyone else, including our hosts, so we let ourselves into the backyard and Tyson and Jori swam for a bit. Singing, or pretending to sing, the South African National Anthem Fellowship Puppet Theater Once everyone else arrived, the food started pouring out of the kitchen; chips, popcorn, chicken skewers, steak with cranberry and camembert, crackers and cheese and so much more. This was BEFORE the main meal! While the adults were watching Rugby (Go Bokke!) the kids were either swimming, trying to play Rugby, playing dress up or just running around like ki...

Brunch rolling over into lunch Friday morning came a little too early for some of us. Our kids had an unexpectedly late night on Thursday, being fed and put to bed between 9-10, which is not their normal nightly schedule. Tyson was still sleeping at 7:30, so we decided to just keep them both home from school, as we would have had to pick them up early as it was and being a half day at the end of term, we felt skipping school was AOK for the day. We finally all got up and ready and left our house for brunch, which turned into lunch, at Ludwig’s Roses. Tyson and Jori were excited to come along as they didn’t get to participate in any of Thursday’s fun. Amo was with us as well and she was in a happy mood this morning. We got to Ludwig’s, had the kids choose their food and drink, and then they all took off running and playing as kids of that age do. Ludwig’s has a great play area outside, so it was nice to have the kids occupied so the adults could talk, and laugh, and then talk and l...

Finally, some time to breathe. On Wednesday night, Darin dropped my dad off at the airport. We absolutely LOVED having him here both before and after his training in the Barberton area, but having an extra body in the house, no matter how loved that person is, adds to the chaos that is everyday life. Normally, we plan things so that we have a bit of time to regroup after having visitors, but life doesn’t always go as planned. On Wednesday evening, while we were having a final meal with my dad, Crystal Paine, also known as Money Saving Mom, was arriving in South Africa with her family and one of her managers, Brian (who is the son in law of Ken Davis AND has slept in the Dutch Inn in Edgerton Minnesota, which Darin’s parents used to own!!! Small world.) Thursday morning, we got up, got the kids out the door to school and started getting ourselves and Amo ready for a day of fun with the Paine gang and the Take Action team. Crystal with the tray Peet from Butterfly made for her ...